Colombian presidential line of succession

The Colombian presidential line of succession is the order which the vice president and other members of the Colombian national Government assume the powers and duties of the Colombian presidency (or the office itself, in the instance of succession by the vice president) upon an elected president's death in office, resignation, removal from office upon impeachment conviction or incapacity.

The order of succession specifies that the position passes to the vice president. If the vice presidency is simultaneously vacant, or if the vice president is also incapacitated, the powers and duties of the presidency pass to the cabinet ministers, according to their respective order of precedence.[1][2]

Current order of succession

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The Constitution of Colombia establishes that the Vice President is the first person in the presidential line of succession. In the absence of both the president and the vice president, article 203[3] in the Constitution establishes that the presidential office will be assumed by a Cabinet member, in order of precedence that establishes the law. The assuming Minister must be a member of the same party or movement to which the original president belonged, who will exercise the presidency within thirty days following the presidential vacancy in which Congress elects a new vice president who will assume the presidency.[4] In the table, the absence of a number in the first column indicates that the holder is not eligible.[5][6]

No. Office[7] Incumbent Party
1 Vice President Francia Márquez SPS
[A] Minister of the Interior Luis Fernando Velasco Liberal
Minister of Foreign Affairs Álvaro Leyva Conservative
2 Minister of Finance and Public Credit Ricardo Bonilla Humane Colombia
Minister of Justice and Law Néstor Osuna Liberal
Minister of Defense Iván Velásquez Independent
Minister of Agriculture Jhenifer Mojica Independent
3 Minister of Health and Social Protection Guillermo Jaramillo Humane Colombia
4 Minister of Labour Gloria Inés Ramírez Democratic Pole
5 Minister of Energy Andrés Camacho Commons
6 Minister of Commerce Germán Umaña Patriotic Union
7 Minister of Education Aurora Vergara SPS
8 Minister of Environment Susana Muhamad Humane Colombia
Minister of Housing Catalina Velasco Liberal
Minister of ITC Mauricio Lizcano Independent
9 Minister of Transport William Camargo Humane Colombia
10 Minister of Culture Juan David Correa Humane Colombia
Minister of Sports Luz Cristina López Independent
Minister Science Yesenia Olaya Independent

Presidential succession by vice presidents

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Three vice presidents have succeeded to the presidency during the period, two due to the resignation and one of them due to the deposition of the president in office.

Successor Party President Reason Date of succession
Miguel Antonio Caro National Rafael Núñez Resignation[9] November 18, 1894, 31 days into Núñez's presidency.
José Manuel Marroquín Conservative Manuel Antonio Sanclemente Coup d'état July 31, 1900, 1 year, 11 months and 24 days into Sanclemente's presidency.
Ramón González Valencia Conservative Rafael Reyes Resignation August 4, 1909, 4 years, 11 months and 28 days into Reyes's presidency.

Presidential succession beyond the vice presidency

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Although four vice presidents have succeeded to the presidency after the death or resignation of the president, between 1905 and 1994, the office of vice president was abolished, later being established in 1994 with the 1991 constitution, during the 86 years of abolition of the vice presidency, it was the Minister of Government who headed the line of presidential succession.

Successor Party President Reason Date of succession
Jorge Holguín Conservative Marco Fidel Suárez Resignation November 11, 1921, 3 years, 3 months and 4 days into Suárez's presidency.
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Military rule Laureano Gómez Coup d'état June 13, 1953, 3 years, 5 months and 12 days into Gómez's presidency.

Next in line

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Since 1991 there have been two cases in which the vice presidency became vacant; During those terms, the next people in line to serve as acting president were:

Under the Constitution of 1991

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No. Official (party) Dates Reason President (party)
1 Horacio Serpa (L)
Minister of the Interior
September 10 –
16, 1996
Resignation of Vice president Humberto De la Calle Samper (L)
2 Guillermo Zuluaga (U)
Minister of Agriculture
March 21 –
29, 2017
Resignation of Vice president German Vargas Lleras Santos (U)

Under the Constitution of 1886

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No. Official (party) Dates Reason President (party)
1 José Domingo Ospina (C)
Minister of Government
February 8, 1888 –
December 16, 1889
Resignation of Vice president Eliseo Payán Núñez (N)
Vicente Restrepo Maya (C)
Minister of Government
December 16, 1889 –
August 7, 1890
José María González (C)
Minister of Government
August 8, 1890 –
November 10, 1890
Guillermo Quintero Calderón (C)
Minister of Government
November 10, 1890 –
January 3, 1891

Notes

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  1. ^ The Constitution establishes that the presidential office will be assumed by a minister in the order of precedence established by law. The sitting minister must be a member of the same party or movement as the original president.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "El reemplazo del Presidente de la República". corteconstitucional.gov.co.
  2. ^ "¿Cómo sería la sucesión en caso de ausencia del presidente Santos?". publimetro.co. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Article 203". Constitution of Colombia. 20 July 1991. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Article 205". Constitution of Colombia. 20 July 1991. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Artículo 17 de la Ley 1444 de 2011. Número, denominación, orden y precedencia de los Ministerios". Alcaldía de Bogotá (in Spanish). 7 September 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Suplencia presidencial#Colombia". pdba.georgetown.edu.
  7. ^ "Concepto 561531 de 2020 Departamento Administrativo de la Función Pública". funcionpublica.gov.co. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Article 203". Constitution of Colombia. 20 July 1991. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  9. ^ Posada Carbó, Eduardo (21 July 2017). "Rafael Núñez: sus últimos días; centenario de la muerte del Regenerador". banrepcultural.org. Retrieved 13 September 2023. Una hora más tarde, mientras se escuchaban los cañones en las murallas de Cartagena, el gobernador de Bolívar redactaba el mensaje a Miguel Antonio Caro anunciándole la muerte del presidente de la República.